What is Industry 4.0 and what you need to know about it

A new industrial revolution unlike any previous one will inevitably change the way we work, play, socialize and shop. What you need to know about the fourth industrial revolution

What is Industry 4.0?

The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) involves a new approach to production based on the massive introduction of information technology in industry, large-scale automation of business processes and the spread of artificial intelligence.

The benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are clear: increased productivity, greater worker safety through the reduction of jobs in hazardous working conditions, increased competitiveness, innovative products and much more.

“The world is at a crossroads. The social and political systems that have lifted millions out of poverty and guided our national and global politics for half a century are now working against us.” With this disturbing statement begins the book “Technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, written by the founder and permanent president of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Klaus Schwab. In 2016, he introduced the term “Industry 4.0” (it appeared in 2011 in Germany and denoted the technology of “smart” factories) into mass use, which has become synonymous with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Like all previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is changing not only production, but our whole life – the economy, relationships between people, even, to some extent, the very understanding of what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence and robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, bio- and neurotechnologies – these latest methods are becoming part of our daily existence before our eyes.

Robots vs people

The fourth industrial revolution could lead to an unprecedented widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. The number of investments in projects that deal with artificial intelligence is growing, as their technologies can reduce costs for companies by an order of magnitude. But the side effect will be rapid job cuts.

However, in the foreseeable future, artificial intelligence will not become equal to humans. On the contrary, AI systems work best when a person directs them, sets goals for them, and suggests optimal solutions.

What else awaits us with the development of industry 4.0? The poor will get poorer and the rich richer. Many IT companies have already become monopolists in their fields. For example, in 2017, Google controlled almost 90% of the global contextual advertising market, and Facebook controlled almost 80% of social networks.

Internet of things

Technology creates new value, but it can also bring new dangers. For example, the Internet of Things is likely to increase the level of security in cities, reduce the burden on transport infrastructure, improve healthcare, and provide municipalities with energy savings. At the same time, the spread of IoT is likely to increase instability in many areas of the economy: most new technologies cause temporary excitement and thoughtless investments (like blockchain and cryptocurrencies). In addition, new cybersecurity challenges will arise as hackers seek to capitalize on the spread of the Internet of Things. There will be more cyberattacks than ever before.

Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR)

Today, the most common formats adapted for virtual and augmented reality are video games and various educational programs. But with the development of VR and AR technologies, they are no longer just a gaming tool. Virtual and augmented reality are increasingly being introduced into professional fields. Companies and departments feel the need for advanced corporate training methods: VR, for example, is used in the training of soldiers, pilots and salespeople, engineers and power engineers. Video games, entertainment, healthcare, real estate, education and the military – in the near future VR and AR will be actively used here. With the help of a virtual reality headset, you can even meet with a deceased relative. True, this raises new questions for the industry – where is the limit of what is acceptable?

Big Data

Every day there is more and more data. Public administration, industry, medicine, retail, social networks, banks and the Internet of things – a huge amount of information appears daily in these and other areas. But conventional software is not capable of analyzing such a volume of data. Therefore, the processing of terabytes and zettabytes of information is handled by machine learning. New opportunities for analyzing such arrays affect many areas of life, including business, healthcare, communications and entertainment.

At the same time, big data requires strong and well-established protection systems. Information, and especially its large volume, which companies analyze, has a high price. Its leakage can lead to catastrophic consequences for both the business and the individual.

Artificial Intelligence

A person cannot analyze a large amount of data, technologies do this – for example, they track a traffic offender on cameras, recognize a criminal in a crowd, diagnose diseases, and even predict an outbreak of a virus. Technologies capable of solving non-routine tasks at a high level are now called artificial intelligence. Although in reality the algorithms underlying each such technology are unique in their own way – it can be machine learning, deep learning and, in fact, artificial intelligence.

Today, artificial intelligence underlies the recommendation services of online stores, voice assistants, filters content, writes texts and even music, and recognizes people’s speech and faces. Companies are increasingly using chatbots to communicate with customers. AI allows businesses to earn huge amounts of money because it analyzes consumer behavior and helps improve algorithms. They, in turn, are getting better at predicting people’s needs, as a result of which they personalize the shopping experience and increase sales.

Cyber ​​security and privacy

Our increasingly “digitized” life helps scammers gain access to personal information. According to EY, the average consumer in our country is forced to identify and provide data to fifteen or more different organizations. In Moscow, this number is twenty-four. The more companies that collect user data, the more likely it is to leak.

Thanks to the development of technology, every minute dozens of companies – mostly private and unregulated – register the movements of millions of people, store this information in huge databases, and then sell it to advertisers or the state. Today, society lives in the most perfect surveillance system, which it has created for itself. Technological progress and the desire to make money have led to the fact that third parties can learn everything about the life of each of us in a matter of minutes.

Ethical issues

Technology will change the very concept of “human”. Methods of biological design in the future can bring people absolute health and even immortality. Cloning will lead to the appearance of people who, by definition, will not have parents and families. Genetic engineering could turn the human race into a diverse set of creatures with abilities that we now associate with superheroes from science fiction films. The use of neurotechnologies leads us into exactly the same ethical labyrinth. Understanding the connection between brain state and behavior can undermine the foundations of jurisprudence – for example, there will be reliable evidence that a person does not have freedom of choice.

But ethical questions arise not only in the context of the human future, but also the future of robots. What if they become as smart as us? Can they still be considered a tool and exploited without asking permission? Suddenly AI will be able to fend for itself? Will the UN then have to include protection for the rights of machines in the Slavery Convention?

There is no need to be afraid of new methods that are changing the economy and everyday life before our eyes. “We will not be able to take full advantage of the opportunities that are opening up if we surrender to the complexity of technologies and consider them external, deterministic forces beyond our control,” says Klaus Schwab.